The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) sealed four unlicensed businesses run by foreigners on 20 Oct, shutting them down and seizing their equipment in a sweep that ran from the afternoon into the night, NST reported.
Two barbershops along Jalan Gurdwara were closed at the same time in the afternoon. Officers then moved to a food outlet at Fortune Court in Air Itam, before finishing at a retail business along Jalan Datuk Keramat after dark.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the council said all four premises were sealed off and their business equipment seized under the Local Government Act 1976. Notices of enforcement action were served on the operators, their representatives or employees.
The sweep was carried out under the codename Ops Tegas, which the council has used for a run of similar operations this year. Five premises along Jalan Baru in Batu Maung were closed on 13 Oct, according to Bernama, among them a grocery store, eateries and a barbershop. Inspections found foreign workers at the premises, and one foreign national failed to produce identification documents before leaving. Officers also found raw chicken and fish being processed inside the business areas, and a barbershop with a passageway into living quarters and a food preparation space.
Enforcement against foreign-run businesses has run at a steady pace for four years. MBPP said it had taken 703 enforcement actions against such businesses between 2022 and 2026, The Star noted, made up of 37 in 2022, 127 in 2023, 212 in 2024, 263 in 2025 and 64 in the first eight months of this year.
Three premises along Jalan Macalister drew repeat action on 1 Sept after a TikTok video posted on 30 Aug alleged violations there. The council said enforcement had already been carried out at the same location on 15 Nov and 2 Dec last year, and on 24 Feb this year. That operation, involving three premises, was carried out under Section 101(1)(v) of the Local Government Act 1976.
The three operations since 1 Sept cover 12 premises, four of them sealed on 20 Oct.
Two TikTok accounts, Team Surplus Pulau Pinang and Team Surplus KL/Selangor, had pressed the council on enforcement consistency around the Macalister case, calling for transparency and immediate action.
MBPP reminded business operators to hold valid licences and to comply with all licensing conditions, warning that failure to do so could lead to legal action, including closure of premises and seizure of business equipment. Penang has seen a growing number of foreign-run businesses that do not meet licensing requirements, prompting the council to act.
